Game playing devices which generate signals for symbols to be displayed on the screen of a television receiver employing microprocessors responsive to both player/participant's commands and plug-in ROM cartridge game rules, symbology-storage, etc. are well-known in the art. In general, such devices provide games in which the motion of the player symbols is either directly controlled by the participants during game play or is preselected by the participants prior to the start of the actual game by selecting a particular play to be run, thus providing a variety of player symbol movements, such as the motions of simulated football players in accordance with a game strategy contained within the ROM program and selectively chosen by the human participant. In the latter case of participant play selection, there is a relatively small number of plays which can be selected, and, thus, there is a limit to the degree of strategy which can be employed by the participants.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to extend the scope of video type game playing apparatus for games of a strategy nature.
It is another object of this invention to add flexibility to video game and educational and training apparatus by permitting the user to program the apparatus during use thereof with varied and distinct programs to predetermine a series of directional moves of a multiplicity of player symbols to be executed automatically after game start.